Pastoral Letters

October 13th, 2006 - Where has the TIME gone?
As I write this the first 'real' mists of the year-end are making their chill felt in the early morning. They shroud the landscape and cause eerie shapes to 'hang around'; the dampness penetrates the bones; more clothing is put on, but those wonderful tints of fallen leaves and designs of stripped trees compensate for the forthcoming harshness of yet another winter. (...more)

September 15th, 2006 - But who really cared?
We sat on the pier head and watched the world go by. There was some movement on the water as vessels came to and fro; some of them pleasure craft, others plying their trade: yet this latter function was becoming a part of history through external pressures, and the old trawl skipper who sat at my side, simply shook his graying head as his eyes glazed with tears and what had been and what it was now. (...more)

June 15th, 2006 "God's vision for His people"
I was impressed recently with a reading from the Book of Revelation. It is not the usual area of my reading, or indeed my preaching, but in recent days I have been drawn to some of the sections which have given me some dramatic insight to "God's vision for His people" (...more)

May 17th, 2006 - There is a happy land;
For some unaccountable reason, that line from the Sunday School hymnal of unknown date, and published by The National Sunday School Union of Ludgate Hill, London came into mind and this immediately got me thinking about some "Whys and wherefores". (...more)

February 26th, 2006 - Signs;
There is a tremendous argument currently in the popular press concerning the proliferation of traffic/road signs. Many are saying that there have become so numerous that instead of helping the road user, they have become an inherent danger. (...more)

January 18th, 2006 - Post Code;
There are a number of books and other odds and ends scattered about my study floor. Occasionally, one of them reminds me it is there as I trip over it, and usually at the most inopportune moment: like, in the middle of a telephone conversation. Many will remain in their languid state possibly until I move out to 'pastures new', but each and all have their uses at least in the occasional moment. (...more)

December 17th, 2005 - Where does all that time go?;
Have you looked recently at your diary for 2006? I don't for a moment suspect that it contains as many entries as mine does, but nevertheless, I wonder if you too are asking that inevitable question as we stand at the gate of yet another new year, "Where does all that time go?" (...more)

October 16th, 2005 - ‘Our prison population’
There is always a lot of talk in the press and other sections of the media about ‘our prison population’ and increasingly difficult it seems for the judiciary to seek and be seen to maintain law and order without ‘overcrowding’ the prison system. The entire system is on the verge of utter collapse with the fear of a massive increase in crime and criminality. There is utter disgust as criminals are ‘let loose’ after serving what many folk regard as a derisory part of a jail term, while the ‘victim or their family’ are wracked in pain and anguish. (...more)

September 11th, 2005 - A charge made against you
By the time this is 'public' many meetings will have been held and decisions made, and folks' future decided. Yet many who are members of meetings simply turn up and 'make up the numbers', very few in fact actively participate in debates and discussions and as a consequence both their eloquence and their contribution, whatever that might be, is lost and those who will 'win the day'. (...more)

August 15th, 2005 - And where has yet another year disappeared too?
Have you noticed that you are drawing the curtains that wee bit earlier? Have you noticed too, that it is not as light in the mornings when you get up at your 'normal' time? Whatever we seek to do with all the objects we have acquired, there is NOTHING we can do about the advancement of the seasons. (...more)

June 16th, 2005 - "The sound of silence"?
Do you recall that old popular song, "The sound of silence"? Have you ever experienced it? Yet, what IS this silence? One could respond, "The absence of noise", but is that all of the answer? Where do I go and experience, this 'silence'; indeed, where can it truly be found? (...more)

May 19th, 2005 - Holidays!!
We take a lot of trouble organizing them, and then worry ourselves silly whether in fact we have done the right thing, and can really afford it, in the first place! Holidays!! (...more)

April 16th, 2005 - Several ‘drops of water’
I read an account of a fantastic occurrence the other day …… simply due to a fall of rain, and how that event changed an earthly landscape into something that folk never thought would happen, in their lifetime. A barren stretch of earth, famous for its vast extremes of temperature, and renowned for the fact that it did not appear to be able to sustain any life-form, suddenly took on a breath-taking new hue, and all due to a sudden, and it would appear, an unexpected cloud-burst. (...more)

March 12th, 2005 - Too much – too little -- too late?
The world and its peoples never cease to amaze me at what they can make as ‘topics of conversation’. If it’s not the proverbial ‘weather’, then the ‘beautiful game’ takes centre stage [football to those NOT in the know!]. (...more)

February 13th, 2005 - 90 Seconds
A number of years ago now, I invited my local minister to contribute to a series of ‘Thoughts for the Day’ on a local radio station. Nothing unusual you may say as that was part of my brief as the Methodist representative in that area. However, it was both the timing and the content of those messages which made the impact, and even some twenty years on, when I listen to a recording, my whole being is stretched by the pictures which Graham painted for those ‘Holy Week’ broadcasts. (...more)

January 19th, 2005 - A New Street Map
I made one of those purchases the other day which is a rarity ---- I purchased a new street map. With the ever-increasing nature of our communities, keeping up to date with the names and locations of a variety of new locations is a vital task, if one is to get about and respond to ‘new areas’ (...more)

December 14th, 2004 - A Brand new Diary
Its fresh, unadulterated pages beckon the pen and the innumerable scribbles which become the historical document of 2005. The creation of an historical document? Yes, as each entry is made, you are in effect, recording your part of history in this Year of Grace, 2005. (...more)

August 20th, 2004 - Cause to Reflect
There was a very strange feeling as you drove up to the entrance. The perimeter fence looked menacing and somewhat foreboding, yet just beyond it, was evidence of ---- a garden centre! Then, partially hidden in the undergrowth was a sign to a restaurant and gift shop! (...more)

June 14th, 2004 - The ‘Tall Ships’ were in town!
There was a strange, yet quaint stateliness about their form. Their ‘uniqueness’ attracted not just hundreds, but thousands of inquisitive eyes and an equal number of gaping mouths. There were as many questions from those of more mature years, as there were from the naturally inquisitive younger element. All had been drawn into an historical time warp, which was fascinating to behold. The ‘Tall Ships’ were in town! (...more)

May 20th, 2004 - all the big occasions in the Church’s calendar are over, for yet another year
It could be argued that ‘all the big occasions in the Church’s calendar are over, for yet another year’ ----- and to a certain extent that is precisely correct, if you count the Church’s year from the beginning of the Advent season. But surely this will give the impression, if we follow that dictum, that we simply and only function, at certain times of the year. (...more)

April 15th, 2004 - The revitalised route
The rattle of a regular service train had long since passed into history. The rails were rusting and the track bed was fast disappearing under a deep covering of foliage. The axe had long fallen on this rural line, and all that was left for many a local villager, who had been served by this link, were memories, and they ran deep. (...more)

April 2nd, 2004 - Oh, it’s enough to put you off religion for life!
That’s but one comment that has been made about the controversial film, ‘The Passion of the Christ’. Here we are coming face to face with ‘Reality religion’, as opposed to comfortable, storybook religion’. It’s easy to interpret our faith through other human’s eyes, and seek through that a panacea that will keep our minds, hearts and even lives, from pain and distress. (...more)